According to Wikipedia, the Dunning-Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which people with limited competence in a particular domain overestimate their abilities. It was first described by David Dunning and Justin Kruger in 1999.
The Dunning-Kruger effect has always been a problem for kitchen designers. For example, the first conversation with many potential clients often begins with them telling us why they don’t need a kitchen designer. They believe that they “know exactly what they want”. Often architects, engineers, interior designers, contractors and cooks believe that their limited experience qualifies them to design kitchens. Or as one caller said who had done a couple of other renovation projects “this isn’t my first rodeo”.
As with other expertises, it actually takes years of experience working as a professional kitchen designer to get good.
Searching online does NOT an expert make!
These days, many professions are subject to the frustrations that kitchen design professionals have had to tolerate for decades because of the internet and the ease of searching online. Any physician will tell you that many of their patients now feel qualified to diagnose themselves. They even question expert medical advice on all subjects. For them, doing a google search or listening to a podcast can outweigh decades of medical training?!
Reliable News sources are also challenged with people sourcing their news from highly questionable sources. This is what is behind conspiracy theories and lies commonly appearing as fact on social media, irresponsible websites and “news” organizations.
Kitchen design experts also have to work around bad advice given to homeowners from architects, interior designers, contractors and cooks who have always made doing our job harder.
And now, HGTV, Houzz, and the DIY Network also pass out unreliable information 24/7. The information the public gets from these sources is even worse than the bad advice they get from periphery professionals. The result is a “Dunning-Kruger” public that is much harder to help then they were just a few years ago.
Trade show participants outside the national Kitchen and Bath Industry Show
And then there’s the substantial increase in the people who watch these shows entering the kitchen design and remodeling profession without any real experience. Going to events in the kitchen and bath industry is becoming increasingly disturbing as more of these armchair experts with too much time on their hands populate events. They are invited to these events because they have customers who, not knowing any better, chose to work with them.
Due to the Dunning–Kruger effect, we’re seeing weirder and more problematic kitchens every day. And a bad kitchen HURTS resale value.
Trade magazines and industry events have welcomed the expanded participation. Unfortunately, this communicates a tacit acceptance of breaking essential rules in kitchen design.
At Main Line Kitchen Design, our mission is to give you the best design for your space. We even actually debate with customers in the early stages of the design to keep them from selecting something with errors that could make it difficult to live in their renovated kitchen and resell their homes.
A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Be careful of the credentials of the designers you work with.
Some related Blogs below:
We Rate Kitchen Remodeling TV shows.
Kitchen Design vs Kitchen Cabinets
